You're no doubt aware that the much wanted EarthBound was ESRB rated quite some time ago. Nintendo has never particularly done much with the Mother series outside Japan, only releasing EarthBound in the US and for the most part just letting people wonder where Ness from Super Smash Bros. was from. Obviously, when the ESRB rating appeared, many people got excited that one of the biggest cult classics ever could possibly be rereleased on VC.

The excellent EarthBound - Will we ever get another chance to play it again?

Sadly, it appears that this is not going to happen now. As you might know, EarthBound has a massive fan following, most notably the members of Starmen. You might also be aware that some of the guys at Starmen have had some contact with Nintendo of America concerning EarthBound's VC release, but they were never allowed to say anything about it.

They've spilled the beans today though - Apparently EarthBound will never be coming to VC. Certain songs in the game resemble certain real songs far too much, which is something that wouldn't fly with lawyers. Nintendo of America simply suggested to change the songs, but Nintendo of Japan wants none of it - Obviously this means that nothing can be done about it until Nintendo of Japan decides to change the songs as well.

Starmen also reveals that the ESRB rating was apparently a "mistake" - It was never meant to be rated, but it somehow did.

You can read Starmen's full report on EarthBound's unlikely VC release here.